This weekend the Times ran a number of different columns reflecting on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. One of the columns, Obama, Gates and the American Black Man, by Brown University professor Glenn Loury, discusses racial profiling and systemic discrimination against Africa-Americans, particularly black men. I have posted a screen shot below. Notice the advertisement on the right side of the picture (click for a larger image):
To be fair, this ad was almost certainly generated automatically. It could also be coincidence that this ad was generated for this particular article. That being said, running an advertisement for hair straightening products along side an Op-Ed about the injustice of racial profiling and systemic racism is, at the very least, embarrassing and strikingly ironic.
